Centrifugal extractor



Sept. 13, 1938. A, SCHELLENBERG 2,130,160

CENTRI FUGAL EXTRAC TOR Filed Sept. 7, 1957 4 Sheets- -Sheet l five/a ar I I Q/Z9f/ Sc/ieZkzzZey Sept. 13, 1938 A. SCHELLENBERG 2,

CENTRIF'UGAL EXTRACTQR Filed Sept. 7. 1 57 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Sept. 13, 1938. A. SCHELLENBERG 30,160

CENTRIFUGAL EXTRAGTOR Filed Sept. '7, 1957 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 (five/a ar; Q/Zgr/ aZe/zzie rg P 1938. A. SCHELLENBERG I 2,130,160

CENTRIFUGAL EXTRACTOR Filed Sept. 7, 1937 4 Sheets-Sheet '4 ?atented Sept. 13, .1938

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 1 10 Claims.

This invention relates to centrifugal extractors, and has reference more particularly to centrifugal clothes dryers.

In devices-of this character it is customary to 5 provide a perforated bowl or basket into which wet clothes may be placed after washing, and to provide driving means whereby the bowl may then be rotated at a high rate of speed,'in such a manner that the centrifugal force acting on the moisture carried by the clothes will drive this moisture outwardly through the perforated side walls of the basket andleave the clothes in a substantially dry condition.

Since centrifugal force is directly proportional to the square of the velocity it is obvious that the extracting efliciency of the device will vary in accordance with the speed at which the basket is rotated. Howeven'it will be readily understood that in order to be practicable, the basket must be of suflicient size to accommodate a considerable volume of clothing and that when this Wet clothing is placed in the machine it will not ordinarily be so carefully or expertly distributed as to maintain a dynamically balanced condition in the rotating basket. 1

For these reasons it has been impractical to rotate the basket at as high speeds as are desirable for maximum effectiveness, since any severe unbalanced load condition would cause excessive vibration, which, when transmitted to the machine frame often causes the machine to move bodily about the floor and be generally noisy and unpleasant or even dangerous to operate. This is particularly true in connection withsmall units of the ordinary household type, since these machines are customarily provided with only a very light frame and not ordinarily anchored to the operating floor. 1

In the preferred embodiment of the present invention the basket and driving motor are mounted on a bearing housing in such a manner that they comprise a unit" that is free to vibrate,

dill

but isfsuspended from the machine frame in such 7 a tanner that the vibration is not transmitted thereto. This mode of construction permits the utilization of basket speeds not heretofore practicable for the reasons herein pointed out,-but it alsogives rise to new dimculties, or rather, it makes it desirable to give special attention to certain physical phenomena heretofore present but negligible in degree.

"It is the customary practice to enclose'the ro- I .atlng basket matub or housing, in order to catch the water thrown from the basket during the extracting operation, and it is desirable to have as littleclearance between the basket wall and the tub as necessary for satisfactory operation and safety. When low speeds are being utilized this clearance need only be enough to allow for the vibratorymovement of the basket, but it will be readily seen that the rotation of the basket will not only exert centrifugal force upon the water. and clothes within it, but also upon the air it contains, and that when extreme- 1y high speeds are being used this air creates a decided effect on the mechanism which should be compensated for if best results are to be obtained. Apparently the high speed rotation of the basket causes an uneven pressure condition within the tub, with the result that the rotating basket tends to gyrate about a horizontal orbit that grows larger as the speed is increased. Since this movement cannot be permitted without danger of having the rotating basket strike the tub, it has been found desirable to provide ventilating ducts to relieve the pressure condition within the tub.

It is, therefore, a primary object of this invention to provide an improved suspension for centrifugal machines.

Another object is to provide a suspension for centrifugal machines of such a nature as to permit free vibrational movement of the moving parts without transmitting my perceptible vi bration to the supporting frame.

Another object is to provide a suspension for centrifugal machines of such a nature as to permit rotation of the principal parts around their center of gravity as differentiated from their geometric center.

' Another important object of this invention is to provide a suspension for centrifugal machines of such a nature as to permit free vibration and gyration about any point determined by the dynamic characteristics of the device, without respect to the point of suspension.

Another object is to provide a suspension for vibrating mechanisms-wherein the absorptionof vibration is facilitated by first reducing the vibratory movement to its component parts.

Another object is to provide an extractor unit .mounted for free vibration as limited by a stabi- Referring now to the drawings in which a preferred embodiment'of the invention has been illustrated: I

Fig. l is a perspective view of a washing machine and extractor unit:

Fig. 2 is a sectional view through the extractor;

Fig. 3 is a detail sectional view taken on the line III-III in Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a plan section taken on the line IVIV of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a detail sectional view showing a modified form of stabilizing weight adapted to house a centrifugal pump; 1

Fig. 6 is a detail sectional view showing a modifled form of stabilizing weight;

Fig. 7 is a detail sectional view of a modified stabilizing construction;

Fig. 8 is'a plan section of the modified con struction illustrated in Fig. '7.

. In the unit here illustrated a washing machine I0 which is provided with any customary type of agitator II in the usual manner is mounted on a framework I2 supported by legs I3 to which is fastened a skirt I4. An extractor tub I5 is also carried by the frame I2 and is enclosed by a jacket I6 suitably spaced therefrom so as to pro vide an air chamber II between the outer wall of the extractor tub and the'inner wall of the jacket. A plurality of relatively large openings I8 are provided near the bottom of the extractor tub I5 to permit the air to pass freely from the extractor tub I5 to the air chamber H. The upper portion of the air chamber I1 is closed by a top I 9 having aplurality of perforations2l to permit the free passage of air therethrough. The extractor tub I5 is closed at the top by a cover 22 having perforations 23 provided therein to permit an unhindered circulation of air through.

the cover. A drain board 24 is provided between the top of the extractor tub I5 and the washing machine tub I0 inthe customary manner;

Two pairs of lugs 26 are secured to the framework I2 anda sleeve 21 is bolted into position between each of these pairs of lugs 26 by means of bolts 26. vA resilient strap 29 which is preferably made of rubber is carried by each of these sleeve portions 21 and extends downwardly to a similar sleeve and bolt assembly 3|. Strap iron arms 32'are secured to the sleeve and bolt assembly 3i and extend diagonally upward. At the upper ends of these strap iron arms 32 a second pair of resilient straps 33 are secured by means of sleeves 34 and bolts 35. Similar sleeves 36 are carried at the lower ends of the resilient straps 33 and these in turn are bolted to a pair of angle irons 31. A bearing housing H is bolted to the angle irons 31 by means of cap screws 42 and carries an upper bearing '43 and a lower bearing 44, each'of which is provided with an oil reservoir 45, as is customary in the art.

A vertical drive shaft 46 is journaled in the bearings 43 and 44 and a thrust bearing 41 is provided adjacent its lower end. An electric motor 40 is bolted to the bearing housing 4I by means of cap screws 49 and is coupled to the lower end of the drive shaft 46 by means of the coupling 5|. A stabilizing weight 52 is secured a to the motor in any convenient manner, as for to prevent relative rotation between the drive shaft 46 and the extractor basket 55. The side walls 51 of the extractor basket 55 may be per- -I2I and sleeves I22.

forated in any desirable manner, but it has been found advantageous in certain instances to form a perforation as illustrated in Fig. 3. In this construction 'alip portion 65 is bent outwardly from the basket wall 51 to form an abrupt shoui der 66 at its trailing edge. The high speed of rotation of the basket 55. causes an area of partial vacuum to form behind this shoulder 66 and this vacuum assists the centrifugal force exerted within the basket'in withdrawing the moisture from the clothes. I

An upwardly extending sleeve 9| is provided in the bottom portion 02 of the extractor tub I5 in order to prevent the water from draining through the opening 93 provided to accommodate the drive shaft 46. Any desirable means may be provided for draining the extractor tub I5, as,

for example, a rubber hose 94 which may be provided with a pump, if desired.

In the modified form of stabilizing weight, as illustrated in Fig. 5, the weight 95 is provided with a housing 96 formed integrally therewith and adapted to house an impeller type pump 91 driven by the motor 40. The .upper side of the housing 96 is closed by the plate 98 secured by means of bolts 99 and provided with a gasket I 0| to prevent leakage. Suitable packing I03 is provided around the shaft 46 of the motor 48. The drain hose 94 may then be connected to the intake port I04 of the pump 91 and the pressure hose I05 may be provided at the outlet port I06:

of the pump.

In some instances it may be advantageous to provide a stabilizing weight of a hollow construction such that its own weight is negligible but that it may be filled with heavy material when cured to the motor 46. A filling plug II2 permits the tank to be filled with any desirable material, as,'for instance, water. In Figs. '7 and 8 a modified form of stabilizin construction has been shown in which the stabilizing weight H4 is provided with lugs I I5 to which the resilient straps II 6 are secured by means of bolts Ill and sleeves II8. These resilient straps II6 extend radially from the stabilizing weight H4 and are secured to lugs H0 carried by the lower frame I20 by means of bolts These resilient straps II6 tend to resist the movement and dampen the vibration of the stabilizing weight H4 and may in certain instances permit the use of a smaller weight without decreasing, the efficiency of the machine.

While it is believed that the operation of the device as herein described will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, it will here be briefly reviewed.

The clothes to be washed will, of course, be placed in the washing machine tub in a soap and 'water solution where they will be agitated by the agitator II. When the washing has been completed the clothes will be lifted from the washing machine I0 and inserted into the extractor basket 55 within the centrifugal extractor tub I5. The cover 22 will then be locked in a closed position and the extractor basket rotated by the driving motor 48. If the clothes are placed in the extractor basket 55 in such a manner that .the basket 55 is in a dynamically balanced condition, it is obvious-that the high speed of rotation will not tend to cause-any perceptible amount of vibration. However, it will be readily understood that it is highly improbable that the clothes will be so placed as to accomplish this result. If the basket 55 is overloaded on one side, the center of gravity of the basket and load will be at a point spaced apart from the geometric center of the basket. 55 will tend to rotate about its center of gravity rather than its geometric center. It will then be seen that the drive shaft 46 will be effective to rotate the basket 55, but since the basket 55 will be rotating about its center of gravity rather than about the axis of the shaft, the'shaft 46 will also revolve in an orbit, the radius of which will be equal to the distance between the geometric center of the basket 55 and its center of gravity. In either event the weight of the driving motor 48 and the stabilizing weight 52 will be sufficient to maintain the drive shaft 46 in a substantially vertical position and to exert a limiting influence upon its vibration. From this it will be seen that the extractor basket 55 may rotate about its center of dynamic balance and that the drive shaft 46, bearing housing 4| and associated parts will be the only parts of the device subject to extreme vibration. Since this bearing housing 4| is of relatively small mass and is freely supported by the resilient straps 33 and 29, it will be apparent that there will be very little side thrust upon the bearings 43 and 44 and that the power exerted by the driving motor 48 will therefore be fully utilized in rotating the extractor basket 55.

' The bearing housing 4| and angle irons 31 comprise a secondary frame, and as the bearing housing 4| vibrates, this vibration is transmitted by the angle irons 31 to the sleeves 35 suspended at the lower ends of the resilient straps 33. These resilient straps 33 are free to swing about the upper sleeves 34 and will therefore readily absorb all of the components of vibration acting at right angles to'the flat surfaces of these straps 33. The components of vibration acting in a direction parallel to the flat surfaces of the straps 33 will be transmitted to the upper sleeves 34 and bolts 35 and thence to the bolt assemblies 3| by means of the angularly extending strap irons 32. These remaining components of vibration will then be absorbed by the resilient straps 29 swinging about the sleeves 21 and bolts 28. Due to the fact that the coeflicient of hysteresis of rubber is very high, its adaptability to absorb energy and not transmit it is correspondingly great and it will thus be seen that the motor suspension as herein described will not only elimiate all vibration at right angles to the drive shaft 46, but is also capable of absorbing a certain amount of vertical vibration.

In general it will be apparent that the present invention does not necessarily attempt to prevent vibration of the drive shaft nor of any specific point thereon. Rather the construction is such that it allows the rotatingparts of relatively great mass to rotate about their dynamic centers whereupon the drive shaft 46 and associated parts are free to vibrate about any point or points determined by the dynamic character of the device. The resilient suspension is then so arranged that this vibration will not be transmitted to the frame of the machine with the result that a machine constructed in accordance with the principles of this invention will be silent, efficient, and long-lived.

While I have shown and described a preferred embodiment of this invention as required by the In this case the basket Patent Office statutes, I am aware that certain modifications may be made and, therefore, do not wish to be limited except as by the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a centrifugal machine, instrumentalities for facilitating the drying of clothes, comprising a frame, a tub, a rotatable clothes container located within the tub formed to permit the discharge of water therefrom, means for effecting rapid rotation of the container including a driven shaft and a motor suspended therewith for driving the shaft, and suspension means for the container, shaft and motor permitting a freedom of lateral bodily movement thereof under 15 rotation of various loadings of the container, said suspension means including a mounting for the shaft and separate longitudinally, stretchable and laterally flexible supporting devices for said mounting located at spaced points circumferentially of the shaft and attached to said mounting and to said frame whereby said devices intermediate their points of attachment to the mounting and frame will conform to strains and forces imparted thereto longitudinally and later- 25 ally of the shaft to absorb resultant vibrations.

2. In a centrifugal machine, instrumentalities for facilitating the drying of clothes, comprising aframe, a tub, a rotatable clothes container located within the tub formed to permit the dis- 30 charge of water therefrom, means for effecting rapid rotation of the container including a driven shaft and a motor suspended therewith for driving the shaft, and suspension-means for the container, shaft and motor permitting a freedom 35 of lateral bodily movement thereof under rotation of various loadings of the container, said suspension means including a mounting for the shaft and separate longitudinally stretchableand laterally flexible supporting devices for said 40 mounting located at spaced points circumferen-,

- tially of the shaft and attached to said mount-.

ing and to said frame whereby said devices intermediate their points of attachment to the mounting and frame will conform to strains and forces imparted thereto longitudinally and laterally of the shaft to absorb resultant vibrations, some of said supporting devices being oppositely disposed and in substantiallyparallel relationship to permit automatic displacement of the container, shaft and motor in substantially horizontal planes. u

. 3. In a centrifugal machine, instrumentalities for facilitating the drying of clothes, comprising a frame, a tub, a rotatable clothes container 10-55 cated within the tub formed to permit the discharge of water therefrom, means for effecting rapid rotation of the container including a driven shaft and a motor suspended therewith for driving the shaft, and suspension means for the coritainenshaft and motor permitting a freedom of lateral bodily movement thereof under rotation of various loadings of the container, said suspension means including a mounting for the shaft and separate longitudinally stretchable and laterally flexible supporting devices for said mounting located at spaced points circumferentially of the shaft and attached to said mounting and to said frame whereby said devices intering and frame stretch or contract endwise and in directions diagonally of the axis of the shaft when in its normal position, in keeping with shifting and tilting influences of the container, shaft and motor thereon.

' mediate their points of attachment to the mount- 4. In a centrifugal machine, instrumentalities for facilitating the drying of clothes, comprising a frame, a tub, a rotatable clothes container located within the tub formed to permit the discharge of water therefrom, means for effecting rapid rotation of the container including a driven shaft and a motor suspended therewith for driving the shaft, and suspension means for thecontainer, shaft and motor permitting a freedom of lateral bodily movement thereof under rotation of various loadings of the container, said suspension means including a mounting for the shaft and elastic sheets constituting separate longitudinally stretchable and laterally flexible supporting devices for said mounting located at spaced points circumferentially of the shaft and attached to said mounting and to said frame whereby said devices intermediate their points of attachment to the mounting and frame stretch or contract endwise and in directions diagonally of the axis of the shaft when in its normal position, in keeping with shifting and tilting influences of the container, shaft and motor there- 5. In a centrifugal machine, instrumentalities for facilitating the drying of clothes, comprising a frame, a tub, a rotatable clothes container located within the tub formed to permit the discharge of water therefrom, means for effecting rapid rotation of the container including a driven shaft and a motor suspended therewith for driving the shaft, and suspension means for the container, shaft and motor permitting a freedom of lateral bodily movement thereof under rotation of various loadings of the container, said suspension means including a mounting for the shaft and separate longitudinally stretchable and laterally flexible supporting devices for said mounting located at spaced points circumferentially of the shaft and in a zone intermediate the container and the motor whereby the latter may constitute a counterbalancing medium at a point substantially below the supporting devices, said devices being attached to said mounting and to said frame whereby said devices intermediate their points of attachment to the mounting and frame will conform to strains and forces imparted thereto longitudinally and laterally of the shaft to absorb resultant vibrations.

6. In a centrifugal machine, instrumentalities for facilitating the drying of clothes, comprising a frame, a tub, a rotatable clothes container located within the tub formed to permit the discharge of water therefrom, means for effecting rapid rotation of the container including a driven shaft and a motor suspended therewith for driving the shaft, and suspension means for the container, shaft and motor permitting a freedom of lateral bodily movement thereof underrotation 0 of various loadings of the container, said suspension means including a mounting for the shaft and separate longitudinally stretchable and lat erally flexible supporting devices for said mounting located at spaced points circumferentially of the shaft and in a zone intermediate the container and the motor whereby the latter may constitute a counterbalancing medium at a point substantially below the supporting devices, said devices being attached to said mounting and to said frame whereby said devices intermediate their points of attachment to the mounting and frame stretch or contract endwise and in directions diagonally of the axis of the shaft when in its normal position, in keeping with shifting and tilting influences of the container, shaft'and motor thereon.

7. In a centrifugal machine, instrumentalities for facilitating the drying of clothes, comprising a tub, a rotatable clothes container located within the'tub formed to permit the discharge of water therefrom, means for effecting rapid rotation of the container including a driven shaft connected with the latter and a power means for driving the shaft-and supported therewith and with the container in substantially free suspension, and supporting means therefor comprising separate supporting devices located at spaced points circumferentially of the shaft, said devices comprising elastic supports formed and secured to expand, contract or flex throughout. the length thereof whereby to conform to corresponding forces tending to set up vibration.

8. In a centrifugal machine, instrumentalities for facilitating the drying of clothes, comprising a tub, a rotatable clothes container located within the tub formed to permit the discharge of water therefrom, means for effecting rapid rotation of the container including a driven shaft connected with the latter and a power means for driving the shaft. and supported therewith and with the container in substantially free suspension, and supporting means therefor including supporting devices located at spaced points circumferentially of the shaft, said devices comprising elastically yieldable elements, and means for attaching said elements at one end to a part of the machine and at the opposite end to the shaft, power means and container supported therefrom, whereby said elements, may stretch endwise and flex laterally in the areas between their points of attachment.

9. In a centrifugal machine, instrumentalities for facilitating thedrying of clothes, comprising a tub, a rotatable clothes container located within the tub formed to 'permit'the discharge of water therefrom, means for effecting rapid rotation of the container including a driven shaft connected with the latter and a motor for driving the shaft supported therewith and with the container in substantially free suspension, and supporting means therefor including a mounting and separate supporting devices for the mounting located at spaced points circumferentially of the shaft, said supporting devices being in the form of elastics tending to centralize the container secured at their lower ends to said mounting'and at their upper ends fastened in place to permit the elastics to expand or contract in accordance with the weight of the container, shaft and motor when the latter are in vertical position defined by the axis of the shaft in its normal "position, and laterally flex when the container, shaft and motor tend to displace laterally or tilt.

10. In a centrifugal machine, instrumentalities for facilitating the drying of clothes, comprising a tub, a rotatable clothes container located within the tub formed to permit the discharge of water therefrom, means for effecting rapid rotation of .the container including a driven shaft connected with the latter and a motor for driving the shaft supported therewith and with the container in substantially free suspension, and supporting means therefor including a mounting and separate'supporting devices for the mounting located at spaced points circumferentially of the shaft, said supporting devices being in the form of elastics tending to centralize the container secured at their lower ends to said mounttainer, shaft and motor tend to displace laterally or tilt, in combination with other means below' ing and at their upper ends fastened in place to permit the elastics to expand or contract in accordance with the weight of the container,

' shaft and motor when the latter are in vertical position defined by the axis of the shaft in its normal position, and laterally flex when the consaid elastics and supplemental to the motor for exerting additional centralizing inflnence on the container, shaft and motor.

ALBERT SCHELLENBERG. 

